This May be offensive. My 10 Commandments…

[JustAndy]

I had to produce 10 Commandments of Photography for a project.  Due to some recent frustrations, I have a documented meltdown I thought I’d share for you:

This is my opinion… I believe it… and it may offend you.  If you need me to take it down I will.

10 Commandments
of
Photography for my male counterparts.

1.
She’s a model.  Not your fucking whore.  Just because she poses for you doesn’t mean you get to fuck her.
2.
Your telephoto lens should not be a substitute for your dick.  Lets not play; “mine is bigger than yours”.
3.
Nice ink work.  You look cool.  Want to talk about equivelent exposures?  No.  That’s right; you don’t need to know shit about your craft…  You look good.
4.
A camera doesn’t make you interesting.
5.
I don’t want to hear about all you’ve done.  Show me.
6.
Shooting concerts doesn’t make you a rock star.  Shut up.
Also fuck Jack Johnson.
7.
Respect.  A camera does not allow you to be an asshole to others.
8.
Know why you take a picture.  Getting laid isn’t a good reason.
9.
Whiskey is a man’s drink.  Put down your martini.
10.
Prove yourself.
Prove yourself to others.
Prover yourself to the industry.
Prove yourself to  yourself.
Prove it through your work ethic.
Prove it through your work.
Prove it by your respect for others.
There is no greater respect shown, than by helping others.
If you suceed.  Never forget those who helped you along the way.

*  Without a camera; who are you?  That is who you should be with the camera in your hands.

[cameraclicker]

Does the profane language really add beneficial impact?

Most of the original 10 commandments start “Thou shalt …”, your list is more 10 rant statements.

 

 

[Gerbles]

All this seems to address is personal issues you have with other photographers. I thought this was going to be informative.

Edit: I have another commandment- Thou shalt spend more time practicing your craft than worrying about what fellow photographers say and do.

[Worst Case Scenario]

I agree with number 9. But it has nothing to do with photography.

I don’t want to hear about all you’ve done.  Show me.

Have you ever posted a link to your work?

[JustAndy]

Yeah, it was a rant spurned by frustration.  Language may not have been the necessary, then again speaking with people as of late in a civil tone seems to be infective as well.  Just my observations on a lot of my younger counterparts in the field who don’t seem to be particularly interested in learning photography, merely using it as a vehicle to take advantage of others or fulfill their ego.  I have posted images in the past as well.  Feel free to delete this post if you desire, it’s really not that big of a deal.

[IHF]

all ranting and bad writing, disagreements, and whatnot aside… “I don’t want to hear about all you’ve done.  Show me.”

I like that.  It goes well with a recent post in “Am I a faux tog”.  Don’t care what you sold, or what sort of expert knowledge or experiences you have had.  Your work speaks for itself, and if it stands up and says “Look at me!  I have merit, time and care, and talent behind me”… then maybe we can talk about your experiences if you feel up to it.  But, using what you “know”, and what you have done over the years, to defend your careless work?!  STOP IT!  It makes you look like a doofus

[JustAndy]

Whoa there buddy, I’m not saying I’m great.  Never did, and I won’t.  I’m just surrounded by this type of attitude.  I work with a number of Suicide Girls (not really my favorite subject, but I get along with them and they trust that I won’t take advantage of them) and this came from guys who really just want to get them over to their homes and get creepy.  I don’t really care if somebody is a solid shooter, if they have fun and enjoy what they’re doing I can respect that; what I don’t appreciate is the arrogance I’ve encountered as of late.  I am doofus; not going to lie, I’m also socially awkward and I don’t really enjoy shooting people… I also don’t really feel that motivated to prove myself on this site.  If you’ve seen my responses to critiques I think (hope) you’ll find I’ve been respectful  of others work.  I’ll do my best to help people as long as they show an interest and/or appreciation for their craft and subjects.  All in all enjoy coming on here and seeing what people have going on, sometimes it’s funny, sometimes it’s frustrating, but I really don’t put too much stock into this site rather than being an amusing distraction.  All I really hope for is that we, as photographers, can become a little more cognizant of our behavior and attitudes towards our subjects, each other and the general public.  Bad grammar has been noted as well, this may not have been my proudest moment… and yes, feel free to tell me this is a cop-out; probably is… I do wish you all best of luck in your endeavors.  Sometimes a guy just needs to scream out his frustrations, I did, and that is all.

[IHF]

Lmbo

Oops

no Andy, I was agreeing with you about “show me”. Not calling you a doofus, but the people that go on and on about how they did this or that, because their work blows serious chunks.

I didn’t find your post offensive at all, and didn’t want to get involved with any bickering about it, just wanted to come in and say that line was my favorite.

Online, without voice influx kinda sucks ass sometimes huh?

[fstopper89]

I definitely think this could be “10 commandments to Model Mayhem photographers.” Lol. I have never had a model shoot personally but I know some real creeps who have photographed “girls who are trying to break into the modeling scene” (some of which are nasty skanks, but that’s a side-note) and all the sudden middle-aged creeps with cameras come out of the woodwork. There’s one in town here I swear is a pedophile also, but who am I to judge really. He did “test shoots” with a woman I know who is very pretty just to get posing ideas before her “real shoot” and she made him promise he wouldn’t show anyone the test shoots. Then word got out that he showed a bunch of guys, and she had her “posse” watching him for a few weeks (yes, I know, wtf?? she had a posse?) Anyways he does all this model photography, and also has lots of albums of little girls he’s photographed on his page as well. Creepy.

[It Makes My Eyes Burn]

Somebody should of written this for Terry Richardson along time ago.

[IainMc]

Commandment 7 can be a challenge to obey at times. Especially if you encounter these “security guards” who think they have the power to stop people taking photographs of “their” building from a public street. I’ve never had to use it yet but my trump card is to politely explain to them that I know my rights, if they think they have the power to stop me, I’m going to carry on shooting regardless and they should call the police. I live in hope that one day I will see one of these jobsworths charged with wasting police time.

[emf]

@ Iain, you can download and print out a stop and search bust card that lists your rights, to keep in your wallet, from the photographernotaterrorist.org website.

[Author]

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